Porter
Moss's is one of the truly sad stories in Negro League history. One
of the most popular and successful pitchers in the Negro Leagues, in
his prime at age 34, died from a bullet to the stomach, and many believe
that Jim Crow was as responsible for his death as the shooter.

Moss
grew up in Cincinnati and attended Harriet Beacher Stowe school and
then West Virginia State College where he starred in baseball and football.

In
1934 Moss started his pro career with his hometown Cincinnati Tigers.

In 1936
Moss made the black big time, when Double Duty Radcliffe saw him playing
fastpitch softball.

"...Some
kids were playing softball on the playground," remembered Radcliffe,
"and Moss was pitching. He was throwing that softball underhand
by all the batters. I went up to him and signed him to a contract and
he was one of the best submarine pitchers in our league until he got
killed."

In
1936 Moss flourished going 35 and 8, and gave the Tigers a great 1-2
punch on the mound (Radcliffe being the other pitcher). Other players
included Ducky Davenport, Spoon Carter, Josh Johnson, Howard Easterling
and Neil Robinson.

Midway
through 1937 Radcliffe became player-manager of the Memphis Red Sox,
brought Moss with him, and both players made their first East-West All-Star
game appearances.

In
1938 the Memphis Red Sox, perennial losers since the 1920s, won the
Negro American League first half pennant led by Moss and Radcliffe,
and played the Atlanta Black Crackers for the league title. After Memphis
won the first three games, the series was cancelled and Memphis named
champions.

Moss,
also called "Ankleball" for his ability to keep his underhand
pitches low, continued to put up impressive pitching stats and he was
named to the East-West All-Star Game in '42 and '43. He had a composite
E.R.A. of 2.16 in his three East-West games.

In
the '42 game, with the score 2-1 in his West team's favor, he was called
in to pitch with two outs in the ninth, and he got pinch-hitter Vic
Harris to fly out to end the game.

Moss's
tragic end came when the Memphis Red Sox' bus broke down in Tennessee
on July 15, 1944. The team had no choice but to board a train to get
to its next game, and then trouble began.

A
white man named Johnny Easley, who had shot a black man earlier that
day, was on the train, drinking heavily, flirting with female passengers,
and shooting dice.

The
train was normally segregated, but with the extra ballplayers aboard,
many of the black and white passengers were crammed together in the
vestibule.

Easley
was approached by the train's porter and conductor about his behavior
and he pulled a gun on them. At the next stop, Easley departed the train
and shot randomly into the crowded train car as he ran off. The shot
hit Moss in the stomach.

Moss
walked into the coach, announced he was shot and asked for air and a
doctor. His teammates stretched out some uniforms for Moss to lay on
until they got to the next stop. When the train reached the station
in Waverly, Tennessee, the Red Sox were told that there were no doctors
or ambulances in town. Moss continued to bleed and suffer.

At
the next stop, Bruceton, Tennessee, a white doctor came on board, gave
Moss an injection for pain and told the Red Sox to take him to the next
station as there were no hospital facilities for him in town. At the
next town, Lexington, Tenn., it was the same story.

Finally,
when the train reached Jackson, Tennessee, an ambulance took Moss to
the hospital where he had an emergency operation at 6 am, nearly 12
hours after he was shot. He died a few hours later.

Moss,
along with Chino Smith, Steel Arm Dickey, and Slim Jones, died in the
prime of his career, before his true potential was reached.